Teens to be tried as adults in heist
Posted on Saturday, June 28, 2008
BENTONVILLE — Four teens face adult charges for their roles in the attempted robbery of a Wendy’s in Rogers.
On Friday, Benton County Circuit Judge Jay Finch ruled that the four 17-year-olds will be tried as adults after hearing two days of testimony.
Eduardo Hernandez, John Michael Schneider, Aaron Isbell, Ricardo Salcido and Evan Garvey have been charged with aggravated robbery, kidnapping, fleeing and criminal use of a prohibited weapon. Hernandez, who was shot by a Rogers police officer during a chase, also is charged with aggravated assault.
If convicted, the teens face up to life in prison.
The case against Garvey, who is testifying as part of a plea deal with prosecutors, will be heard, however, in juvenile court. The judge also sent the case of a sixth suspect, Jorge Hernandez-Gonzalez, 16, to juvenile court.
The teens were arrested Feb. 23. A woman was held at gunpoint by assailants in an attempt to get inside the restaurant, according to court documents and testimony.
Rogers police officer Jason Becker testified that he received a 1: 30 a.m. alert concerning an armed robbery at Wendy’s. Becker said he pulled into the parking lot and saw two suspects running from the restaurant and that he chased them.
During the pursuit, Becker tripped in a drainage ditch and saw one of the suspects with what Becker said he believed to be a shotgun. Becker shot once, and the individual fell to the ground, got up and began running again. Becker chased the two, but they escaped in a Jeep Cherokee parked nearby.
Garvey testified during the hearing that he and a sleeping Hernandez-Gonzalez waited in the Jeep while Schneider, Isbell, Salcido and Hernandez went to Wendy’s to rob the business. Hernandez had talked about robbing the drive-in for weeks, and Schneider provided his father’s shotgun.
Schneider, Salcido, Isbell and Garvey were released from the Benton County jail after posting bail.
After Finch’s ruling, Hernandez-Gonzalez was to be transferred from the jail to the county juvenile detention center, while his older brother Hernandez will remain in the jail.
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